Statistics: Latin America and the Caribbean

The region has made remarkable progress towards implementing most of the MDGs. At least five of the MDGs appear to have already been met and in other areas progress has been rapid enough to put the region well on track to meet the 2015 deadline.

The region’s total net enrolment ratio in primary education rose from 87% in 1991 to 97% in 2005, the highest percentage in all regions surveyed.

42% of non agricultural paid jobs are occupied by women, and the share of women holding parliamentary seats has grown from 12% in 1990 to 20% in 2007.

There has been a significant progress in reducing child mortality from 54 deaths per 1,000 births in 1990 to 31 in 2005.

However, poverty rates in this region have decreased only slightly from 10% in 1990 to 9% in 2004. At the same time, income inequality remains the highest among all developing areas, with the poorest 1/5 of the population accounting for only about 3% of national consumption.

The region being among the most biologically diverse areas around the globe, suffers from one of the fastest rates of deforestation. The proportion of land covered by forests declined from 50% in 1990 to 46% in 2005.